Minute Maid Park's most memorable: Albert Pujols' crushing blow

Minute Maid Park was rocking and the Astros were one out away from their first World Series when Cardinals star Pujols crushed a Brad Lidge offering well over the train tracks at Minute Maid Park for a stunning three-run homer in Game 5 of the NLCS. It silenced the ballpark like arguably no other moment in its history.

Photo: MELISSA PHILLIP, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

14th in a series

As the Astros play their 20th season at Minute Maid Park, we are counting down the 20 most memorable games and/or moments in the ballpark's two decades.

Today, we look back at No. 7: Albert Pujols' homer off Brad Lidge in Game 5 of the 2005 National League Championship Series that silenced the ballpark like no other hit.

When: Oct. 17, 2005What: Game 5, NLCSScore: Cardinals 5, Astros 4

In the big picture, it ended up being a historical footnote.

But in the moment and next couple days, the Astros may not have suffered a more devastating blow.

It was the moment Astros fans had waited parts of five decades for: the moment their team would advance to the World Series for the first time. A three-run home run by Lance Berkman in the seventh inning off Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter gave the Astros a 4-2 lead in a series they led 3-1.

They took that two-run advantage into the ninth inning with the ball in the hands of trusty closer Brad Lidge. He promptly struck out the first two hitters he faced.

Then the pesky David Eckstein, down 1-2 in the count, staved off elimination with a single and Lidge then walked Jim Edmonds on five pitches, bringing the dangerous Albert Pujols to the plate as the go-ahead run.

The Oct. 19, 2005, front page of the Houston Chronicle's Astros extra section after the team's' Game 5 loss to the Cardinals in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park. Albert Pujols' three-run home run in the ninth inning gave the Cardinals the lead with the Astros one out away from clinching their first pennant.

Photo: Houston Chronicle

After fanning on the the first pitch, Pujols didn't miss on the second, launching Lidge's hanging slider to the railroad tracks high above the left-field fence to turn a raucous Minute Maid Park into morgue-like silence. In the dugout, Astros pitcher Andy Pettitte was spotted on television replays saying "Oh my God" after Pujols made contact.

"Obviously, I wish I had the pitch back," Lidge said. "That's kind of the immediate feeling. He hit a mistake, and I immediately just kind of wanted the ball back and (to) get after the next hitter.

"I will try to take this experience for what it is and try to get better. That being said, we have two games left. This is just a bump in the road."

Fortunately for the Astros, there was a tomorrow (or day after tomorrow), as they went to St. Louis and won Game 6 behind a stellar outing from Roy Oswalt to claim their first NL pennant. But losing Game 5 did alter their best-laid plans for the World Series rotation.

In the end, Pujols' homer became a footnote. Just a very memorable one for anyone who watched it.

He said it: "This is devastating," Berkman said. "We were going to the World Series."

Greg Rajan is the senior editor for Texas Sports Nation, the Houston Chronicle's sports website and also curates the daily TXSN newsletter. He joined the Chronicle in January 2015 as the online sports editor. He previously worked as the sports editor at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. He led that sports section to three Associated Press Sports Editors top-10 national awards and his work has been honored by APSE and the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors. He also has worked at the Austin American-Statesman and Temple Daily Telegram.

He is a graduate of Southwest Texas State University and Bowie High School in Austin.